Date of Award
5-2007
Degree Type
Thesis
Degree Name
M.S.
Degree Program
Biological Sciences
Department
Biological Sciences
Major Professor
Anthony, Nicola
Second Advisor
Penz, Carla Maria
Third Advisor
Johnson, Steven
Abstract
The Pleistocene land bridge islands in the Aegean Sea make an ideal natural experimental system for testing how island age, area and isolation affect genetic variation. My research focuses on the population genetics of the Aegean wall lizard Podarcis erhardii (Lacertidae, Reptilia), which because of its wide distribution, and poor dispersal abilities is a sensitive indicator of fragmentation history. I predict that genetic diversity will be positively correlated with island area and negatively correlated with age. I also predict that island characteristics, host genetic variability or grazing may impact parasite prevalence. Findings showed that larger islands maintained more genetic diversity than smaller islands and older islands have higher mite loads. Geographic distance was unrelated to genetic divergence. Tick prevalence was significantly associated with past grazing practices. This study provides a unique opportunity to disentangle factors that may influence the retention of genetic diversity and prevalence of ectoparasites in natural populations.
Recommended Citation
Hurston, Heather, "Historical Land Fragmentation and its Effects on Genetic Diversity and Parasitism of Island Populations of Podarcis erhardii (Lacertidae, Reptilia)" (2007). University of New Orleans Theses and Dissertations. 1072.
https://scholarworks.uno.edu/td/1072
Rights
The University of New Orleans and its agents retain the non-exclusive license to archive and make accessible this dissertation or thesis in whole or in part in all forms of media, now or hereafter known. The author retains all other ownership rights to the copyright of the thesis or dissertation.